Dubai sets goal to be ‘world’s most-visited city’ by 2025
Dubai is set to rank among the world’s top five most-visited cities in 2025, with the emirate well on track to posting another milestone tourism performance this year.
Having set a new benchmark for annual visitor arrivals in 2024, Dubai welcomed 7.15 million international visitors in the first four months of 2025, up from 6.68 million a year earlier, according to the latest government data.
This year-to-date performance puts the emirate on track to receive a record 19 million+ visitors this year, a figure that would likely position the city among the world’s top five destinations for visitor arrivals in 2025.
According to Euromonitor data, Bangkok was the most visited city in the world in 2024, welcoming 32.4 million visitors. Turkish capital Istanbul ranked a distant second with 23 million, followed by London with 21.7 million and Hong Kong with 20.5 million visitors.
Fifth-placed Makkah, in Saudi Arabia, received 19.3 million visitors in 2024, meaning Dubai could feasibly replace the destination in the top five this year.
Tourism growth powered by key source markets
Dubai’s tourism performance in 2024 was powered by consistent growth across all key regions, helped by expanded air connectivity and innovative global marketing campaigns.
- Western Europe remained the emirate’s top regional source market, accounting for 20% of visitors (+14% YoY). The UK held firm as the second-largest country source market with 1.33 million visitors.
- South Asia ranked second, led by India – Dubai’s largest country source market – with 2.5 million visitors.
- The GCC held third place, contributing 15% of international arrivals. Saudi Arabia and Oman led the region’s growth.
- CIS and Eastern Europe ranked fourth, helped by a 10% YoY increase in arrivals from Kazakhstan.
- North-East and South-East Asia was the fastest-growing region overall, up 24% YoY, with Chinese arrivals growing 31% YoY.
- The MENA region posted modest growth overall, despite arrivals from Turkey rising 43% YoY and Israel re-entering Dubai’s top 20 country source markets.
- Africa accounted for 5% of total arrivals, led by the Horn of Africa, which saw a 30% jump in visitors YoY.
- The Americas contributed 7%, anchored by the USA, Dubai’s seventh-largest country source market.
- Arrivals from Australasia increased 6% YoY, with Australia accounting for nearly 300,000 visitors. Further gains from this market are expected in 2025.
According to Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, these results showcase the strength of Dubai’s tourism strategy that targets fast-growing source markets worldwide.
Dubai’s rapid tourism growth also reflects the ambitious goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, which aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy in the decade up to 2033 and further consolidate Dubai’s position as a leading global city for business and leisure.
Global accolades for Dubai’s tourism performance
Dubai’s tourism sector marked a number of prestigious milestones in 2024. The emirate was named the world’s No.1 destination for the third year running in the prestigious Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards – an unprecedented achievement that reflects its broad appeal to international visitors.
Reinforcing its status as a magnet for global investment, Dubai ranked first worldwide for foreign direct investment (FDI) into tourism-related projects, according to The Financial Times’ fDi Markets.
The city further distinguished itself at the 31st annual World Travel Awards, where it was named both the world’s leading shopping and exhibition destination. Meanwhile, Dubai International Airport (DXB) maintained its status as the world’s busiest international airport for the 10th consecutive year, setting a new all-time record with 92.3 million passengers.
Collectively, these accolades are testament to Dubai’s reputation as one of the world’s most popular business and leisure hubs and bode well for the city’s potential elevation into the list of top five global destinations for 2025.
